Same-sex competition and sexual conflict expressed through witchcraft accusations

There is significant cross-cultural variation in the sex of individuals most likely to be accused of practising witchcraft. Allegations of witchcraft might be a mechanism for nullifying competitors so resources they would have used become available to others. In this case, who is targeted may result...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2022-04, Vol.12 (1), p.6655-13, Article 6655
Main Authors: Peacey, Sarah, Campbell, Olympia L. K., Mace, Ruth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/856
631/181/1403
631/181/19
Competition
Family
Female
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Male
Marriage
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sex
Sexual Behavior
Spouses
Witchcraft
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Summary:There is significant cross-cultural variation in the sex of individuals most likely to be accused of practising witchcraft. Allegations of witchcraft might be a mechanism for nullifying competitors so resources they would have used become available to others. In this case, who is targeted may result from patterns of competition and conflict (same-sex or male–female) within specific relationships, which are determined by broader socio-ecological factors. Here we examine patterns of sex-specific accusations in historic cases from sub-Saharan Africa (N = 423 accusations). Male ‘witches’ formed the greater part of our sample, and were mostly accused by male blood-relatives and nonrelatives, often in connection to disputes over wealth and status. Accusations of women were mainly from kin by marriage, and particularly from husbands and co-wives. The most common outcomes were that the accused was forced to move, or suffered reputational damage. Our results suggest that competition underlies accusations and relationship patterns may determine who is liable to be accused.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-022-10315-8